More Park Cities/Preston Hollow Crime, Now Behind the Pink Wall

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I own a condo here at The Seville, and my daughter and son-in-law live here as well. Both these gracious condos are located on Averill Way, “Behind the Pink Wall”, an amazingly close-in and usually SAFE neighborhood in Preston Hollow, near Northwest Highway and Preston Road. Tonight my daughter gave me this report:

“Just found out a neighbor was attacked and pistol whipped in the alley behind our place tonight, while I was 30 feet away in my kitchen organizing with the window facing the alleyway wide open (blinds all the way up). The neighbor was apparently followed here from Starbucks Preston Center. Apparently University Park/Preston Hollow is not even safe anymore.”

She says an ambulance picked up the victim in the alley behind her condo, and she is very concerned. My late mother lived in this area for more than ten years and never, ever had a serious problem. First random gunshots at The Shelton early Monday morning, and then tonight, this? Also, how are we to heed the advice of the greens to “walk everywhere” if we are just going to get mugged while doing so? What’s our biggest problem in Dallas? Crime! Stay tuned for updates!

Candy Evans, founder and publisher of CandysDirt.com, is one of the nation’s leading real estate reporters.

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  1. Jacy on September 11, 2012 at 10:55 am

    Driving everywhere might feel like a safe response, but I think that mentality creates a less safe environment in the long term. The more we ensconce ourselves in our safe houses, exiting them only via our cars, the less we know our neighbours, the less of a community we have. The more time we spend out, on foot, or bike, in our neighborhoods, the more connected we are to each other, the more we are likely to watch out for each other, to be aware if something is amiss. I don't think crime hereabouts is so pressing that we need to let ourselves be driven indoors in fear, we need to own our neighborhoods and build strong communities. It's better for our safety, and, I think, our mental health as well.

  2. Jacy on September 11, 2012 at 10:55 am

    Driving everywhere might feel like a safe response, but I think that mentality creates a less safe environment in the long term. The more we ensconce ourselves in our safe houses, exiting them only via our cars, the less we know our neighbours, the less of a community we have. The more time we spend out, on foot, or bike, in our neighborhoods, the more connected we are to each other, the more we are likely to watch out for each other, to be aware if something is amiss. I don't think crime hereabouts is so pressing that we need to let ourselves be driven indoors in fear, we need to own our neighborhoods and build strong communities. It's better for our safety, and, I think, our mental health as well.

  3. Candy Evans on September 11, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    I love to walk when it's not 110 degrees out, even 104. But I am a night owl and so I drive. I agree with your premise, and one of the highlights of the Pink Wall is how walkable it is, especially to seniors who can no longer drive. But I also think we cannot ignore the fact that Dallas is a driving city. We have many small depots of neighborhoods in which can you possibly walk, but you have to drive from one "depot" to the other. This man was walking from Starbucks at Preston Center, and when my mother lived here she walked to her hairdresser at Preston Center. As a property owner, I am concerned that I am advertising the space as being walkable but in fact now have to warn them to maybe limit that walkability to daylight hours. And that makes me sad!

  4. Candy Evans on September 11, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    I love to walk when it's not 110 degrees out, even 104. But I am a night owl and so I drive. I agree with your premise, and one of the highlights of the Pink Wall is how walkable it is, especially to seniors who can no longer drive. But I also think we cannot ignore the fact that Dallas is a driving city. We have many small depots of neighborhoods in which can you possibly walk, but you have to drive from one "depot" to the other. This man was walking from Starbucks at Preston Center, and when my mother lived here she walked to her hairdresser at Preston Center. As a property owner, I am concerned that I am advertising the space as being walkable but in fact now have to warn them to maybe limit that walkability to daylight hours. And that makes me sad!

  5. Richard Ebrey on September 11, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    Many of you may not be aware of a program in our area called VIP – Volunteers in Patrol. Many of our neighbors volunteer an hour or two a month to drive around in pairs with a flashing yellow light on their car and a plastic placard on the door of the car. They are trained as what to look for and to report back. This a very worthwhile safety effort for our neighborhood and many more volunteers are needed. It has been proven to lessen crime when VIP is active in an area. It would be great of some more of you would volunteer. If you are interested, e-mail me and I will put you in contact with the person in charge. Who knows, if the VIP was driving around at that time this could have been prevented.

  6. Richard Ebrey on September 11, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    Many of you may not be aware of a program in our area called VIP – Volunteers in Patrol. Many of our neighbors volunteer an hour or two a month to drive around in pairs with a flashing yellow light on their car and a plastic placard on the door of the car. They are trained as what to look for and to report back. This a very worthwhile safety effort for our neighborhood and many more volunteers are needed. It has been proven to lessen crime when VIP is active in an area. It would be great of some more of you would volunteer. If you are interested, e-mail me and I will put you in contact with the person in charge. Who knows, if the VIP was driving around at that time this could have been prevented.

  7. Candy Evans on September 11, 2012 at 2:04 pm

    Richard, how about a guest post from y'all on this— I would love to spend the night driving sometime but agree, we have to get more folks involved!

  8. Candy Evans on September 11, 2012 at 2:04 pm

    Richard, how about a guest post from y'all on this— I would love to spend the night driving sometime but agree, we have to get more folks involved!

  9. Cheryl on September 11, 2012 at 10:33 pm

    This is concerning. This is one of the areas that we will be considering when we decide to purchase a condo in Dallas. One of my concerns has been the fact that, with the exception of the high rises, mid rises, and the Imperial House, all of the complexes behind the pink wall have covered parking, not enclosed garages. I too will be keeping an eye on the crime in this area. (By the way, I love the huge front patios at The Seville)

  10. Cheryl on September 11, 2012 at 10:33 pm

    This is concerning. This is one of the areas that we will be considering when we decide to purchase a condo in Dallas. One of my concerns has been the fact that, with the exception of the high rises, mid rises, and the Imperial House, all of the complexes behind the pink wall have covered parking, not enclosed garages. I too will be keeping an eye on the crime in this area. (By the way, I love the huge front patios at The Seville)

  11. thomas c on September 12, 2012 at 10:24 am

    Just love your blog! Keep up the good work.

    Though your story was about a particular crime in the Preston Center area two thoughts come to mind: 1) Joining and actively participating in neighborhood watch programs is a great way to be engaged, involved and help protect the home turf. 2) The additon of city 'toppers' has been a wonderful idea to bring a since of community to our otherwise sprawling city. I can't wait to get the new map of Dallas with all the areas identified. (For natives it's probably not as big a deal.) This was a recent article about mapping our city accurately into neighborhoods.

    http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2012/09/you-say-pleasant-grove-i-say-west-kleberg-mapping-dallas-neighborhoods-all-355-of-them-and-counting.html/

    • Candy Evans on September 12, 2012 at 5:21 pm

      Thanks Thomas we are trying!

  12. thomas c on September 12, 2012 at 10:24 am

    Just love your blog! Keep up the good work.

    Though your story was about a particular crime in the Preston Center area two thoughts come to mind: 1) Joining and actively participating in neighborhood watch programs is a great way to be engaged, involved and help protect the home turf. 2) The additon of city 'toppers' has been a wonderful idea to bring a since of community to our otherwise sprawling city. I can't wait to get the new map of Dallas with all the areas identified. (For natives it's probably not as big a deal.) This was a recent article about mapping our city accurately into neighborhoods.

    http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2012/09/you-say-pleasant-grove-i-say-west-kleberg-mapping-dallas-neighborhoods-all-355-of-them-and-counting.html/

    • Candy Evans on September 12, 2012 at 5:21 pm

      Thanks Thomas we are trying!

  13. […] disclosure: I own property on Averill Way, and I have a vested interest in making sure the real estate values stay sound here. Developing […]

  14. […] disclosure: I own property on Averill Way, and I have a vested interest in making sure the real estate values stay sound here. Developing […]

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